


Mercy for the Devil

by Cat_Moon



Series: Half Breed: Season Two [2]
Category: Moonlight (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-02
Updated: 2013-09-01
Packaged: 2017-12-25 08:36:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/951005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_Moon/pseuds/Cat_Moon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Old foes, old flames, and a serial killer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just torturing Mick some more. #14 in the HB series, takes place a few weeks after their honeymoon. Remember the Ringer? That’s where this series veers off canon. Read them in order.

_Humans like to think they have free will, that their lives are, for the most part, under their control. Nothing could be further from the truth of course. Virtually their every move is dictated from someone higher up on the ‘food chain’ – whether it be the boss at the job who holds their livelihood in his hands, a parent or spouse that’s legally responsible for them, or the masses of police, attorneys and judges they pay to police themselves. Their entire lives are power plays among animals. Yet they pretend to be civilized, arguing about capital punishment issues over a Venti Latte at Starbucks. It’s kind of funny, actually, that they’re deluding themselves so. Maybe that means I’ve lost more of my humanity to the vampirism, or I’ve let go of some of my romanticism about them. Or maybe I just see the absurdity in all life, living and undead. Am I starting to sound like Josef?_

 

“What do you think sounds better?” Beth asked from her seat on the floor, as she peered at the notebook computer on the coffee table. Her casted arm was propped up by her side on a mountain of pillows. “Deal With The Devil or Mercy For The Devil?”

Mick was stretched out on the couch, reading. He turned the book upside down on his lap to give his wife his attention. “I’m almost afraid to ask. Story?”

“Don’t worry, nothing to do with vampires,” she assured. “The State is considering a deal with serial killer Jonathan Morgan. In return for revealing where all the bodies are buried, they offer him life instead of the death sentence.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I would guess you support the death penalty?”

“His victims are already dead. Finding the remains isn’t going to bring them back.”

“He’ll never get out,” she countered, sipping at her morning coffee.

“Sometimes death is a humane ending. Unfortunately most humans don’t get that.”

“We like the misery. You should be able to relate to that.”

“Yeah, overcrowded prisons, deplorable conditions, cellmate rape… Maybe he doesn’t deserve a ‘humane’ ending.

“Maybe you're right. We burden the taxpayers to keep an evil killer behind bars because we can’t bring ourselves to justify playing God.”

Mick shrugged. “But you still are. You just tell yourselves its okay because a jury of twelve did it instead of one individual. The threat is neutralized, and the general public is absolved of any personal responsibility in the deciding of his fate.”

“I guess we just try to do the best we can. As do you.” Beth picked up the wire coat hanger that was in easy reach on the table and started attacking the itch inside her cast. “Too bad the families can’t get closure, though…”

“Point taken,” Mick said quietly. His cell phone rang and he stretched up to fish it out of his pocket. “St. John here, what’s up Guillermo? Now? I was just about to go to bed. Ah, okay, yeah sure. Okay, I’ll be right there.” He closed the call and met Beth’s inquisitive expression. “Gotta go, Guillermo says there’s something at the morgue I need to see asap.”

“Isn’t there always?” She began shutting down her computer. “I’ve gotta go too, I need to do some legwork on this story, and then my doctor appointment is this afternoon. This cast is _so_ coming off.”

Mick laughed; she’d been threatening to cut it off herself for a week now. In actuality, it hadn’t even been three weeks since the arm was broken. The cast should have had to remain on for 1-2 months, but it turned out Beth’s bone healed surprisingly fast. Or maybe there was a reason she healed so fast…

They both got ready to leave for their respective jobs, sharing a goodbye kiss before going their separate ways.

Closure and the measure of peace that came with it was something Mick St. John had been chasing for decades. If the bodies were recovered, some of the families would find it – but some still wouldn’t. Because closure isn’t something given to you by outside factors, it’s something you have to find within yourself.

 

XXX

 

Beth shifted from foot to foot as she tapped on the side of the open office door. When he looked up from his paperwork, she offered a sheepish smile. “Hi Josh. Can we talk?”

Josh Lindsey rose and stepped around the desk to usher her inside. “I guess we can do that,” he agreed, closing the door behind her. “How was the trip?” He nodded to her arm. “Only you would go on your honeymoon, get involved in some kind of crazy adventure, and break your arm.”

Beth thought about lying and saying it was just a skiing accident, but it was true; she _was_ always getting involved in craziness, and the less lies she told him the better it made her feel. So she didn’t elaborate. “It was great and the arm’s not so bad, the cast is being removed this afternoon.”

That wasn’t a lie either, as far as she was concerned the trip was great. Of course, Mick flipped out with a case of PTSD, she was kidnapped and almost murdered by a crazy serial killer vampire, and she broke her arm. The honeymoon was wonderful. This is why Beth is married to Mick St. John.

“So what’s up?” Josh gave her his questioning attention as he leaned against the desk in front of her.

“Actually, I uh, was wondering if you’d be willing to… I’m doing a story on Jonathan Morgan.” Sometimes even _she_ didn’t believe her own nerve; to ask her DA ex-boyfriend if he still wanted to share info on his cases with her even though she’d dumped him for her new husband.

“Ah,” Josh nodded. “Should have figured.”

“I’ll understand if you don’t want to.”

“Quid pro quo?” he asked her, and something in his eyes made her slightly nervous.

That always had been their agreement. Of course he wouldn’t be wanting to change it now, but she was a bit more hesitant about what her side of the deal would be than in the past. “We both do what we can, right?” she answered evasively.

“Fair enough.”

“Is the DA going to offer Morgan the deal?” she asked, all business now.

“Probably. There are at least fifteen bodies out there unaccounted for. One of them is the niece of a high ranking politician in this city, you know what that means. We’re getting a lot of pressure from the families to bring their loved ones home to rest.”

“So he murders dozens of innocent people, but his life is spared?”

“It’s our job to serve the people. If they would rather be able to visit their loved ones in the family cemetery than see an execution, it’ll probably come down to that, yes. The DA won’t make his final decision for another seventy two hours yet.”

“What’s the off-the-record part?” she pushed.

Josh sighed but answered readily. “It’s a long shot, but we’re continuing the investigation, hoping against hope that we can find the bodies ourselves.”

“Then you won’t have to go through with the deal.”

“We don’t like making deals with soulless killers who are purposely using innocent families’ pain as bargaining chips.”

“What do you think your chances are?”

Josh shook his head. “It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Morgan had all that property behind his house, but for all we know he disposed of the evidence far away from home. He did go out of town frequently on business trips.”

“And in the end he may not ever remember where they all are, even if you do give him the deal,” Beth pointed out.

“Or he could screw us and give us nothing in the end anyway,” Josh added sadly. “Could be just a ploy to manipulate people, delay his execution for awhile. It’s not like we trust him to be honest with us.”

“Well, maybe my investigation will turn up something you can use. If so, I promise I’ll get it to you right away.” She gathered her purse to leave.

“We still need to have that talk,” he stopped her with his words.

Not that she harbored any illusions he would let it go, but hope springs eternal. “Sure. Do you want to meet me for lunch tomorrow, or you come over for dinner, or—“

“Maybe I could meet the two of you in Mick’s office tomorrow night,” he told her, totally shattering the illusion that he was only looking for a relationship conversation to help get closure.

 _Mick’s office? The two of us?_ “Uh, yeah, okay. Eight? Eight is good.”

“I’ll see you both at eight,” Josh said amicably.

 

XXX

 

Guillermo was doing an autopsy when Mick arrived, but when he saw the other vamp he stopped immediately, covering the body with a sheet and going over to him.

“Okay, what was so important?” Mick asked. “It’s not like I work for you, you know,” he gave Gasol’s frequent complaint back to him.

“Ha ha. No, this is definitely something you’d want to see my friend.”

Mick dutifully followed him over to the drawers. He grabbed the handles of two that were side by said and pulled them open together.

Mick’s eyes widened. Two vampires lay on the slabs. One of them had a stake protruding from his chest. “Holy—“he cut off.

Gasol nodded in agreement. “Both brought in mistaken for dead humans, police figure it was some kind of altercation and they killed each other. The guy on our left here has his head sliced off too, as you can see. But the one on the right—“

“He’s just paralyzed!” Mick noted. He studied the man more closely; he looked familiar, but Mick couldn’t place a name… “I recognize this guy…”

Guillermo pointed to the man’s chest. “His stake broke off inside the chest, you can't see it.”

“Well, there’s only one thing to do, isn’t there?”

In response to his words, Guillermo reached his hand inside the vampire’s chest and rooted around until he was able to grab the piece of wood. Finally he got a good enough grip on it to pull it free of the body.

With a roar of pain, the man jumped up from the drawer, clutching his chest and doubling over.

“That’s gotta smart,” Gasol quipped with a decided lack of sympathy.

Mick had been watching the man closely. Now that he was animate, the name came to the face. “Hank Mottola!”

At the sound of his name the vamp turned to Mick with narrowed eyes. “You’re St. John.” He was still weak from his brutal staking, so before he had a chance to move Mick was vamped out and had him pinned to the morgue drawer.

“Unless you wanna end up like your friend here,” he nodded to the beheaded vamp, “you better tell me what you’re up to these days,” he growled.

Mottola glared at Mick for a moment, but then acquiesced. “I’m looking for my sire,” he spat in a defiant voice. “He had information about where she is.”

“Your…sire?”

“Coraline.”

Well fuck. In shock, Mick let go of Mottola. The guy had to know she was dead, didn’t he? He knew she was impersonating Morgan Vincent, he was in on the whole thing with her, setting Mick up, killing his girlfriend... Was he looking to avenge Coraline’s death? And more importantly, how could Coraline be his sire if she had become human through the cure?

“Coraline’s dead,” he told Hank, wanting to see his reaction.

Mottola smiled, and the sight chilled Mick. “If you mean from that gunshot wound your little blond girlfriend gave her, you know there are ways around mortal death.”

“Someone turned her again,” Mick surmised, feeling a cold spreading through him that had nothing to do with being undead. “Coraline is still alive.”

 

XXX

 

Beth massaged lotion into the dry skin of her now cast-less arm as she absently walked around the grounds of Morgan’s property. She had no idea why she was there or what she was looking for. Where the bodies of the poor victims here, waiting for someone to find their final resting places and give their souls peace?

Beth’s doctor had been amazed, skeptical, but an X-Ray had shown her bone was now completely healed. He said it was the fasted knit he’d ever seen. She’d never noticed it in the past, but maybe she had always been faster to heal from injuries than she should have been. Was it from being a half breed? Despite the fact that she’d gone through her whole life up till now totally unaware of her special bloodline, there had to be other differences as well. She needed to figure out what they were.

She kicked at a rock on the ground and bent to pick up a discarded empty cigarette package. It sure would come in handy to have some of Mick’s special skills… Maybe some kind of ESP that could help her locate the bodies, or even The Voice telling her where they were. Its presence however, was periodic and sketchy, like a faint radio signal that only just sometimes comes in loud and clear when you fiddle with the knob just right.

Feeling silly, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the wrapper like she’s seen Mick do at crime scenes, waiting to see if she’d get any impressions. Nope, just silly. Good thing no one was around to see her, she thought, straightening up and tossed aside the trash.

“Beth,” a hand tapped her on the shoulder.

“Ah!!” she screamed in shock, jumping a couple of feet in the air at the touch, and spinning around to face the person behind her.

Carl Davis put his hands up in appeasement.

“Carl, what the hell are you doing sneaking up on me like that! “You scared the crap out of me!” she clutched her hand to her chest where she could still feel her heart trying to pound its way out.

“I called your name several times,” he defended. “You apparently didn’t hear me.”

“Apparently.”

“So what are you doing here?” he asked her pointedly.

“I’m investigating the Morgan murders of course,” she didn’t bother to obfuscate. “I talked to Josh this morning,” she name-dropped,” we agreed to trade information on the case.”

“Josh?” he echoed, obviously surprised to find them working together again, under the circumstances.

“We all want the same thing here. The bodies found, so that scum can’t continue to torture the families with his carrot on a stick. You with a closed case, me with a good story.”

“And you thought you’d find them by smelling a cigarette wrapper?” Carl asked her dubiously.

She cringed in further embarrassment, but shrugged gamely. “I thought maybe I could become like one of those psychics on TV that help the police solve the cases.”

Davis shook his head in amusement. “You’re getting weirder all the time, you know that Beth?”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

 

end of part one...


	2. Quid Pro Quo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick and Beth weather rough patches in their marriage.

 

“I don’t care what you have to do, I don’t care who you have to kill – just get it done,” Josef was telling the person on the other end of the telephone receiver when Mick arrived.

“I need a favor,” Mick told him as he walked into the room with the re-staked Mottola slung over his shoulder.

“Of course you do,” Josef told him, then did a double-take when he finally turned around and saw Mick and his prisoner. “Oh hell.”

“I need a place to keep this guy until I can decide what to do with him.”

Josef watched Mick dump the guy on the floor on his back. “Isn’t that that Mottola guy who was in cahoots with Coraline?”

“ _Isn’t that that Mottola guy_ ,” Mick mimicked sarcastically, irrationally irritated that Josef had remembered right away when it had taken him a few minutes to figure it out.

“Why am I thinking some more shit is hitting the fan?”

“You’ve got good instincts,” Mick said, going over to the bar and helping himself to a tall drink of Black Label. After taking a healthy swig, he faced Josef again. “Coraline’s alive.”

Josef’s reaction was so spontaneous and natural, even if Mick had held any doubts as to his surprise it would have erased them. “What?!” He grabbed the glass of liquor that Mick offered, downed it in one swallow, and then sat down heavily in his chair. “Perhaps you’d better start at the beginning.”

Mick flopped down in one of the other chairs. “I got a call from Guillermo. Two supposed stiffs had been brought into the morgue, only one of them was a dead vampire and one of them was just staked.” He nodded toward Hank. “I did what any good vamp PI would do: I removed the stake and questioned him. Turns out he was looking to avenge “Coraline’s” death – only he found out that she wasn’t dead.”

“How is that possible?” Josef’s voice was calm, slow, measured. Not a good sign.

“From what I’ve been able to piece together, it looks like she was turned again. It would’ve had to be at the scene, after she was shot.” _After Beth shot her._

“So she wasn’t actually dead yet. But wasn’t Beth there at the scene until the cops arrived?”

“Oh, the plot thickens. The sire had to be either a cop, or impersonating one. Then they took her to the morgue.”

Josef smiled, but it wasn’t a happy thing. “Where you checked to be sure she was dead.”

“Shut up, Josef.”

“Oh, I haven’t even started yet.”

Mick jumped up to pace agitatedly, running his hand through his hair in frustration. “Don’t you think I know that? I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure it out. I don’t know, maybe, maybe the fact that she had been a vamp and then used the cure made some kind of difference. Maybe there was some kind of transitional period between mortal cure and vamp where I couldn’t detect anything.”

“I don’t like maybes. I wouldn’t be rich today if I relied on them.”

“You tell me,” Mick shrugged. “Do you like speculation?”

“I’ve made some decent money on that,” Josef admitted. “What I’m about to tell you isn’t to leave this room.”

Mick stopped his pacing to look at his friend. “Another secret, how’d I guess?!”

“You know that old vampires guard their secrets well, the edge it gives us is valuable. You also know that as we age, we gain in strength.”

“No, actually, I thought it was an old wives’ tale, considering how you whine at a little thing like having to jump up on top of a roof,” Mick answered spitefully.

“Whether you completely trust me or not, I’m not your enemy,” Josef told him with unadulterated frankness. “You come talk to me in another few hundred years or so and we’ll see what you think then. You’re racking up a hell of a lot of secrets already yourself, buddy.”

“Yeah, okay, I get that,” Mick admitted, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration.

“What you don’t know is that we also develop more…resistance to certain things.”

“What things?!” Mick demanded.

“Oh, like fire. And let’s just say that we’re harder to kill.”

“Thank you for telling me that now. You couldn’t have mentioned that back when I was trying to burn her to death?!”

“You didn’t tell me you never saw her ashes until a few months ago!” Josef fired back.

“If you had known she was still alive all these years, would you have told me?” The bomb was delivered into the silence like a lobbed hand grenade in the seconds before it goes off. Rather than answer, Josef turned away. Detonation. “How can you say you love me like a brother and—“

“No.” Josef stopped him cold with one word. “I would do anything for you and Beth.” His voice shook with the force of his emotion, a rare event in history. “Don’t say shit like that to me.”

Unable to hold the intensity of their gaze, Mick flung himself away, stalking over to the window. “Maybe I should cut up Coraline into one hundred pieces, put them in baggies, and burn them to ash. Then dump the ash in a vat of acid. Would that work, do you think?”

“Calm down!”

“You calm down!” Mick returned, clearly not. “I find out my ex-wife – that I thought was dead twice now, is still alive. I have no idea what she’s up to, but I know it probably puts Beth in danger.”

“And she didn’t pull all this off by herself.” Mick’s head whipped around at Josef’s words, seeing the almost pained expression on his face. “She didn’t vanish from the morgue without help.”

Mick closed his eyes a moment, then opened them and looked at Josef. “Guillermo,” he said reluctantly.

Josef nodded toward Hank. “Let’s torture whatever info we can out of this guy, call the cleaner, and then pay Guillermo a little visit.”

Mick went over to Mottolo and pulled the stake from his chest. This time he barely moved except to roll over to his side, weak from the repeated staking and lack of blood. “Okay, let’s have a little talk.”

“I’m not gonna tell you anything. You’re going to kill me anyway, why should I?”

Josef smiled at him, pushing him onto his back with a foot. “Well, see, that’s the good thing about torturing vampires. I’m betting you have a low pain tolerance, am I right? We can inflict horrible agony for hours on end, without worrying about you dying on us. It’s just a question of how long you can take it until you beg for mercy.”

“If you let me live I can lead you to Coraline,” he tried to bargain.

“No offense, but if I don’t even trust my best friend I’m not going to trust _you_ ,” Mick told him.

“Sorry, we’re just going to have to torture you first,” Josef informed him.

 

XXX

 

Guillermo didn’t seem surprised to see Mick and Josef when they arrived. He just nodded, grabbed his glass of blood, and followed him into an empty room. “I figured you’d be back,” he admitted to Mick.

“ _Why_?” Mick asked with a trace of pain in his voice.

Guillermo didn’t pretend not to know what Mick referred to. “It’s what we do – it’s what I do,” he defended. “A vampire gets themselves into a bad situation, gets mistaken for dead and ends up here, it’s my job to get them out of it and protect the community.”

“Yes it is,” Josef agreed. “But you could have done a guy you’ve known for years a favor and picked up the phone. You did today. You had to know it was Beth who shot her. That’s just not nice.”

Guillermo’s eyes darted from one vamp to the other nervously, obviously worried about having someone with Josef’s reputation unhappy with him.

“Do I make you uncomfortable?” Josef asked, slinging a casual arm around him. “You should have thought of that before,” he told him.

The truth was that Guillermo was only doing his job, strictly speaking. They couldn’t totally find him guilty, just wish it hadn’t turned out the way it did. Based on that, there was really only one course of action to take.

“How long have you been here now, Guillermo?” Josef asked him.

“Uh, about twelve years.”

“I think it’s about time to relocate, don’t you?”

Guillermo sighed. “Yeah, I guess it is. Terence has been wanting my shift for awhile now, he’ll be happy.”

Josef patted his back. “I hear Alaska is nice this time of year.”

Guillermo’s eyes widened, then, his shoulders slumped in resignation. “Better than the alternative.”

“Yes,” Josef agreed. “Yes it is.”

 

XXX

 

“So what are you planning to do about Coraline?” Josef asked Mick when they were back at his house again.

“You have any suggestions?”

“You could go on the offensive. Go after her. But one thing you have to remember: she’s older, crazier, and stronger than you.”

“Maybe not. We really don’t know what happens when someone who takes the cure gets turned again. For all we know, she’s like a fledgling again.” Mick wouldn’t admit it, but his male pride was kicking in with a vengeance. He wanted to face off with her himself so bad he could taste it.

Josef of course, wasn’t fooled for a minute. “So basically you’ve already made up your mind. Why do you always do this? Pretend to be asking me for advice when you’ve already made up your mind?”

Mick had to acknowledge the truth of that. “Her and I are gonna settle this – once and for all.”

Josef began muttering to himself. “I’m giving him the benefit of my wisdom, and my 400 years of experience as a strategist, and he just…” his hands flailed in the air. “And he just goes off like some, some caveman, running on emotions and ignoring brains.”

Mick raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you just call me a caveman?” Josef shrugged. “That is so condescending,” he told Josef, grin threatening to break out.

“What about Beth?” he asked Mick abruptly.

Mick’s expression clouded. He was struggling with the issue of how to tell Beth that Coraline was still alive. He knew he had to, as much as he might want to spare her from the worry, he couldn’t be that hypocritical.

“Josef – if anything happens to me, not just now but ever…”

Josef put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t even have to say it, you know that.”

“Right now I’m going to go home and try to hit the freezer for a couple of hours. It’s been a long day.”

“Mick,” Josef stopped him at the door. “When you go after her – come and get me first, okay?”

Mick smiled slightly. “I thought you were just the brains and I was the brawn?”

“I am. That’s why I’m coming along.”

 

XXX

 

Beth scratched her arm nervously. Mick was due home any minute and she wasn’t looking forward to talking to him about Josh. She wished he’d just come over tonight; get it over with so her imagination could stop dreaming up unpleasant possibilities for his visit.

As if thinking about him conjured his presence, a weary-looking Mick let himself into the apartment. One look at his face told her volumes. “Looks like you haven’t had a very good day either,” she surmised.

“I would kill for just a few hours in deep freeze,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around her and soaking up the comfort of her arms.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about first,” she began, deciding to just get it out immediately. “Josh wants to come over tomorrow night.”

“Josh?” he said distractedly as if the name didn’t compute.

“He wants to talk to us. He’s coming over tomorrow night at eight.”

Mick rolled his eyes. “This is so not a good time. I’ve got this case…”

“I don’t think he’s taking no for an answer. He wants to talk to us. Us, Mick. In your office.”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t know, but it makes me nervous.”

“Just great. As if we don’t have enough problems.”

“What problems?”

“We need to talk.”

Not a good sign -- especially when he led her over to the couch and sat down with her.

“I don’t know any good way to break this to you… The situation at the morgue was two vampires, one dead and one staked. The one staked was Hank Mottola, the guy—“

“The vamp working with Coraline that killed his girlfriend!” Beth finished for him. “I don’t think I’m liking where this is going.”

“Depends I suppose,” Mick added wryly. “At least you don’t have to feel guilty about killing Coraline.”

“No…” she whispered.

“Yes,” Mick told her with reluctance. “She’s not dead.”

“How can she not be dead?” Beth asked in a rising voice. “She has to be dead!” she insisted.

“She was turned again after you shot her. Vampire impersonating a cop.”

“What do we do now?”

“Not we,” Mick told her firmly. “ _Me_. I want you far away from her. Safe. I’ll handle it.”

“Mick—“

“No, Beth. This one isn’t open for discussion.”

“The hell it’s not! You think I’m going to let you go up against Coraline alone?!”

Mick’s eyes flashed in anger. “You’re not gonna _let_ me?”

She backed down just a bit. “At least take Josef with you.”

“Are you saying you don’t have any faith in me to deal with the situation?”

“No, that’s not what I mean!” she denied vehemently. “I’m just worried, you know that.”

“Same difference, isn’t it?” He took her shoulders almost bruisingly tight. “This is what you signed up for. This is who I am! My life isn’t safe, or comfortable, you knew that, didn’t you?” He asked desperately. “If you wanted a normal, safe, boring life you should’ve married Josh, not me.”

Beth stared at him, stunned by his words. After a moment he released her and went to stand by the window, his back to her.

“You’re right,” she finally said. “I’m sorry.”

“Think about what I said, while I’m gone,” Mick asked, still not looking at her.

“Mick, no! That’s not fair. It’s just that I love you so much…”

“Just think about it,” he repeated, heading for the door. He stopped just as he was about to reach for the knob and instead strode quickly back to Beth, giving her a tight hug and passionate kiss. “I love you more than my life. I’ll be back.” It was a promise.

She stared at the closed door for a long time after he left, wiping at the tears on her cheeks.

 

XXX

 

_What do you do when you still love a woman who dumped you for another man, and circumstances keep bringing her into your life again? How do you learn to let go? And what do you do when you know something weird is going on, and that she’s smack in the middle of it? Part of you wants to protect her; part knows that‘s pointedly no longer your job. Maybe you didn’t do it well enough in the first place, maybe it’s her life and you should butt out, you’re not sure. And when it might have something to do with your job, your duty to the people of the city you’ve sworn to protect… then you can’t let go._

 

Beth sat in Mick’s office, fingers drumming nervously on the desk, compulsively checking the clock every few seconds. Josh was due any minute, and Mick wasn’t there. It hurt to know that he’d left her to deal with Josh alone. Since leaving her to hunt for Coraline he hadn’t even called, instead opting to text her a few times just to let her know he was okay. He was alone. She knew this because she’d spotted Josef’s Ferrari around the corner on several occasions and didn’t have to see him all the time to know he was following her around. He had obviously been given babysitting duty instead.

Even though she was expecting it, when the knock came at the door she jumped. Smoothing down her dress and trying to smooth her emotions at the same time, she took a deep breath and opened it.

“Hello Beth.”

“Hi Josh. Come on in.”

He looked as awkward as she was nervous. He tapped a manila file folder against his thigh. Instead of sitting at the desk, she motioned for him to take a seat on the couch, and joined him there.  
Josh glanced around the office. “Where’s Mick?”

“I’m afraid Mick couldn’t be here. He’s in the middle of a really important case. Life and death stuff, you know,” she said, annoyed at having to make excuses for him.

“Well I need to do this now; I’ve already put it off long enough. And I’m going out of town tomorrow on a case of my own.” He gave her a half smile. “ _Way_ off the record – I’m really close to breaking the Tejada case,” he told her.

“That’s great news!” Beth exclaimed, happy for him. She appreciated all the hard work he’d put into it over the months, and how much it meant to him to get the drug lord behind bars for good. “You’ve been working hard on nailing him for over a year now.”

“Thanks. I want this scum so bad I can almost taste it. It won’t be long now.”

Silence fell, and nervousness returned. “Would you like a cup of coffee or anything?” Beth offered.

“No, thanks. Let’s just, ah, do this…” Josh picked up the folder from the table and cleared his throat. “I once told you that things had gotten really weird ever since you started hanging around with Mick St. John. I’m a DA, I’m not stupid. I knew there was something hinky about him, but I… I looked the other way a lot of times, ignored things I wouldn’t have otherwise because of you.”

The butterflies in Beth’s stomach turned to knots, growing ever tighter as Josh continued. Like a noose. “Or maybe you were suspicious because you were jealous,” she countered.

“That too,” he admitted. “There were times I knew you were involved some way in something that had to be…less than on the legal up-and-up. I want you to know that you weren’t fooling me. I chose to ignore it because I loved you.”

“What do you want me to say?” she whispered. “I’m sorry I fell in love with someone else. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“And I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then don’t,” Beth pleaded.

“I don’t intend to, but I do need to know the truth now.”

“What truth?” Beth asked, feeling slightly hysterical. “The truth? Mick and I fell in love and got married. He’s a P.I. who risks his life to protect the innocent who need him, and I like helping him do that. There’s nothing going on here that has to concern you.”

“This file is part of an investigation I’ve been doing, privately. It’s Mick’s.”

Beth stared at it as if willing herself to suddenly develop X-ray eyes to see the contents.

“At first I was just frustrated and confused. Most of the stuff didn’t make any sense, what I was seeing was impossible. I kept track of everything anyway, hoping a pattern would show itself. And when it finally did… I thought maybe I was going crazy.”

Outwardly Beth fought to keep control, inside she was screaming for him to stop talking, for an earthquake to conveniently hit and avert the pending disaster. Even a serial killer breaking the door down would be a welcome diversion.

“Our criminal law professor was always reminding us that the biggest mistake we could make would be to ignore Occam’s razor. It’s actually trickier than it seems in the text book – but it still works.” He opened up the folder and glanced at the contents. “I’ll start at the beginning. You meet this mysterious PI named Mick St. John at a crime scene. The dead woman has puncture wounds in her neck and is drained of blood. He’s working to solve the murder, but there’s no apparent client paying for it. Seeing as how the woman is dead and none of her family or friends knows anything about hiring a detective, I had to wonder why he was so interested in the case.”

“He was helping me with my investigation, because I asked him to. And a crazy teacher’s aide or whatever was the killer. He almost killed me – Mick saved me,” she defended.

“Oh yeah, about that. The nutty professor told me a really weird story about what happened when Mick came looking for you. I dismissed it at the time, him not being a very credible witness. And then of course we have the Lee Jay thing.”

“Lee Jay was framing Mick and you know it! You helped him clear himself!”

“Yes, that’s true. But it doesn’t explain why there’s a picture of a man named Mick St. John in the book ‘Wronged Man’ that happens to look exactly like your Mick. Problem being the picture looks like it’s from the fifties or something and that Mick St. John was involved in the Lee Jay case over twenty years ago.”

“He’s—“

“Don’t bother giving me the ‘father’ story,” Josh interrupted her. “We both know there’s no record of him. Although Bobby Desmond does believe that his friend Mick St. John whom he’s known for 35 years, is alive and well and still in L.A.”

“How long have you been investigating us?” Beth asked accusingly.

“I’m the ADA,” Josh said by way of answer. “Then one night I surprise you with dinner at Buzz Wire only to find you researching vampires on the net, as it suddenly seems to be your new obsession. What with all the stories and weird murders and all.”

_He said the V word… He said…_ Her brain wanted to shut down, maybe go take a nice nap. She felt like she should be saying more, saying something… but all she could do was listen in growing alarm.

“I won’t bother getting into the weird way he works a crime scene, but suffice to say I’ve never met a man who claims he can smell estrogen in blood before.” He pinned Beth with a piercing gaze. “And then you showed up after going out to meet him in the desert with strange puncture wounds on your wrist that you claimed you got from a chain link fence.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. Beth felt her face flame as the knowledge passed between them. _He was dying,_ she wanted to say. _It wasn’t like that._

“After that came the whole incident with the weird designer drug B.C., and disappearing evidence and a convenient warehouse explosion. I’m sure there’s more I’ve missed, I’m not reading from the file – Jesus, Beth, do I have to keep going?!”

“No.” What else could she say? What the hell was she going to say?

“Is Mick St. John a vampire?”

Beth’s hand flew to her mouth, a moment later she was vomiting into the wastebasket.

“Well. You didn’t start laughing hysterically, and you didn’t look at me like I’m either crazy or smoking something illegal. I think that speaks for itself.”

Beth was about as close to panicking as she’d ever been. He knew. Denying wasn’t going to change that fact. He had too much evidence. “Why are you telling me all this?” she finally managed.

“Because I want you to explain it to me. I want the truth.”

“The truth is that Mick St. John is a good man, who saved my life more than once and too many others to count. He almost died protecting your witness Lenny, and he’s honest and caring and honorable. If everyone was like him, you’d be out of a job because there’d be no criminals to arrest. That’s the truth.”

“But is he also a vampire?”

Beth pulled her composure around her like a cloak. Talking about all that Mick was had helped, she felt stronger. There was only one thing to do. “Before I say anything else I need to ask you a favor.”

Josh looked at her incredulously, but nodded.

“I’m going to ask you to wait here a minute. I’ll be right back. Then we can continue the discussion. Please just wait.”

“Okay,” he finally agreed.

 

XXX

 

“Josef.”

Josef opened his eyes to regard Beth. She was standing next to the driver’s side of his car. He’d heard her coming of course, but decided to play possum.

“Beth. Fancy meeting you here!” he feigned surprise.

“I don’t have time for that, we’ve got a big problem.”

“We?”

Some of her urgency and upset bled into her voice again. “I assume you know Josh is upstairs – he’s got a file on Mick. He asked me if Mick was a vampire.”

“Fuck!” Josef exclaimed and jumped out of the car. “What did you tell him?!” he demanded.

“Nothing. I didn’t know what to say. But he’s waiting for an explanation.”

“If anything like this ever happens again – deny, deny. But it’s too late for that now, not answering, coming out here, it’s too suspicious.”

“Even if I had denied it outright, I know Josh. He wouldn’t come here and confront me without being sure of himself, and he wouldn’t just let it go.”

“Then he just signed his own death warrant.”

“No! You can’t just kill a D.A., I mean, that would arouse suspicion…”

“There are ways.”

“He’s a good man,” she implored, laying a hand on Josef’s arm. “I don’t want to see him hurt.”

“There are only two types of humans, Beth: friends – and enemies. There’s no room for in between,” he told her.

 

XXX

 

The door opened and Beth stood there for a moment, looking sheepish, guilty, and worried. Then she stepped aside and a man entered the office, however it wasn’t the one Josh was expecting to see.

“Josef Kostan?!” Josh said, clearly surprised.

“Well, I’m sure as hell not Mick St. John.” He strolled into the room as Beth perched nervously on the edge of a chair. Josh looked at her questioningly, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Josef sat down on the chair behind Mick’s desk. “Okay, listen up. This is how it’s going to happen if you’re not smart. There are influential people in this town – people that your job depends upon, who have a vested interest in the subject you two have been discussing here tonight.”

“Are you saying local government?”

“ _Everywhere_ ,” Josef stressed. “So at the least, your career is history. Most likely, _you're_ history.” He paused significantly. “So is Beth.”

“What? Why?!” Josh exclaimed.

“That is the reality of the situation, and none of us – not even me – have the power to change it.”

Josh looked at Beth. “What have you got yourself involved in?”

“It’s not like that,” she insisted. “I’m… in a way you wouldn’t understand and I can’t tell you I’m a part of it. But these are good people, important and contributing members of society who just want the right to live and love and survive without fearing for their existence.” She glanced at Josef, wondering if she should have spoken up and hoping she’d said the right thing. His slight nod reassured her.

Josef folded his hands in front of him thoughtfully. “If the Jews had all been in hiding and mostly incognito when Hitler was sending them to the death camps, how do you think they might have dealt with anyone, Jew or gentile, who revealed them to the Nazi’s?”

Josh digested that for a minute. “That’s not meant to be an exaggerated analogy, is it?”

Josef shook his head. “No. It’s not. Hitler thought he had a good reason for exterminating all of them. They didn’t chose to be born of a race that some murdering dictator was going to decide wasn’t worthy of surviving, and they didn’t deserve what happened to them. Different has always been a reason for genocide in history, and it’s one I’ve always personally most detested. What makes a person human? Is it that we’re able to think and reason, use opposable thumbs and recognize ourselves in a mirror? That we have a soul, and are capable of living and loving and feeling pain? Or is it to be based on what we eat for dinner and how long we live? Humans,” he declared. “Have so little compassion and mercy for anyone not of their species, but I don’t hold it against you much because you have even less for your own kind.”

“In my line of work, I can’t exactly disagree with you,” Josh allowed, thinking of serial killers without a conscience and soul-less drug lords.

“I’m sorry, that’s not meant to be a criticism.” His eyes flickered to Beth than back. “Some of my best friends are human,” he offered with a small grin.

“So you’re saying Bram Stroker had it all wrong.”

“More than you will ever know.”

“And I’m supposed to just say thanks for enlightening me, and go back to life as it was?”

“No, life – if you choose to still have it – will never be the same again. I won’t lie to you, it’s going to be a challenge for a morally uptight A.D.A. such as yourself to reconcile.”

“You mean like when evidence disappears and cases fall apart,” Josh said, glancing at Beth again.

Josef nodded. “Then there’s the matter of justice. Yours moves slowly and clumsily, and isn’t quite sure of itself. Ours is swift and final. We deal with those of us who don’t follow the rules, and no, no mercy there. We can’t afford any. We punish our own as severely as we protect them. We don’t have the dubious luxury of juries and trials and court systems.”

“What kind of rules are we talking about here?”

“Killing,” Beth piped up. “Breaking the laws our government has made.”

“Well, not quite all of them,” Josef couldn’t help adding with a sly grin.

“I’m going to need to know more before I form an opinion.”

“Like an opinion is going to do anything for you? You only have two choices: friend or enemy. But I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version. We don’t tolerate indiscriminate killing. There are plenty of willing donors, and for individuals who find that kind of mutual pleasure not to their liking, there’s bagged available. Again, no humans were hurt in the making of dinner. Does it ever happen? Regrettably yes. When it does it’s dealt with.”

Josh looked dazed by the information. He threw yet another glance Beth’s way. “What about that, uh, what do you call it? Mesmerizing thing, where y—uh, they can look at people and make them do their bidding…?”

Josef laughed, nodding his head towards Beth. “You know ‘Nora’ here intimately, you really believe anyone can make her do anything she doesn’t want to do?! Old wives’ tale.” Well, there were sort-of exceptions to that, but Josh wasn’t about to get the unvarnished truth, just the humanized version. “Too bad though.”

“I’m not being coerced.”

“No, you coerce others,” Josef shot back.

“Hey, maybe that’s one of my special abilities!” Beth considered brightly.

“We’re all in trouble,” Josef muttered.

“Why are you even giving me a choice?” Josh asked, breaking into their banter. “I’m a threat, right?”

“We could have a mutually beneficial relationship.”

“Quid pro quo,” Beth said quietly.

“Doesn’t sound like it’s much of a decision, does it? Be a friend and get insider information, be an enemy and get dead.”

“See, I knew you were smart.”

“What did you think would happen?” Beth wanted to know. "Did you think before you came here?”

“Not as much as I should have,” Josh admitted.

“What did you want to happen?” Josef inquired. “That they’d have a reasonable explanation for everything and you’d feel all embarrassed and silly? Or get the truth – and what? Arrest Mick for not being the same species? What were your motives?” Josef was very interested in those.

“I just wanted the truth, and to know Beth was safe. I guess I wasn’t thinking much beyond that.”

“Ah, the old curiosity/cat thing.”

“Believe me, I’m safer than I’d be anywhere else. You know how many times Mick has saved me.”

“And with her propensity for getting herself into trouble,” Josef added. “She _needs_ her own personal guardian angel.”

“Or two of them,” she smiled at him.

Josh had been watching the exchanges intently, the obvious affection they had for each other. “I get the feeling you two are good friends.”

“That fact that I’m here talking with you now proves I’d do almost anything for her.”

“You exposed yourself to help Beth,” Josh said as if just realizing the significance of it.

“I know you’re an honorable person as well. I trust we can work this out and insure everyone’s safety.”

“I have about a million questions,” Josh said ruefully. “But I have a feeling I’m not going to be getting much more tonight.”

“Need to know basis,” Josef agreed.

“Okay.” Josh seemed to pull himself together. “Okay. I’ve got a lot to process here, and I’ve already taken up a lot of your valuable time. I’m going to leave now,” he stated as if still not entirely sure he’d be allowed to.

“It’s been so _nice_ talking with you,” Josef told him in a tone that was both unnaturally sweet and sarcastic at the same time.

Beth followed Josh to the door, and gave him a hug. “Be smart,” she whispered.

“I’d still like to talk to Mick,” he told her.

“I’ll definitely let him know.”

After Josh had left, Beth collapsed on the couch in relief.

Josef came around the desk and joined her. “I think that went pretty well. Even if it was against my better judgment to let him live.”

“He won’t talk.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t -- for all our sakes.”

Josef pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. When he spoke again, it was brief and to the point. “It’s Kostan. I want level 2 surveillance put on Josh Lindsey immediately.” He ended the call and put the phone away.

"What's level 2?"

"Not a certain threat but urgent enough for close watch."

“I’m gonna kill Mick,” Beth told him.

“You’re gonna have to stand in line.” The hard edge to his voice said he wasn’t joking.

 

XXX

 

After an almost sleepless night of tossing and turning, Beth got up early and prepared for her day. Before she left for work, she sent a text message of her own, to Mick. It simply said:

COME HOME TONIGHT. OR DON’T BOTHER COMING HOME.

 

End of Part Two


	3. The Devil's In The Details

 

Josef turned in a complete circle, taking in everything around him, which was trees, grass, weeds – lots of weeds. Oh, and sunshine. He couldn’t forget the sun, since it was stabbing at his eyes despite the dark sunglasses.  “Tell me again why I’m out here in the middle of a field in the middle of the day, with you, looking for a needle in a haystack?”

“Because I asked you to,” Beth answered.

“Ah, of course. This is impossible, you know that. The police have already combed every inch of this area, and I’m sure they had the cadaver dogs out as well.”

“But they didn’t have _you_ ,” she pointed out.

“You really think flattery will get you somewhere?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Point taken. But I fail to see what you expect me to do here.”

“Can’t you do that smelling thing?” Beth asked with a nose wrinkle.

“That smelling thing?? Well, for one thing, the murders were committed a long time ago. And for all we know he disposed of the victims near where he found them, and never brought them home.”

“Okay, let’s brainstorm. We’ll start with the easiest supposition to prove or disprove. Assume for the moment that at least some of them are here. We should also start with the house, because we can quickly eliminate it.”

Josef spread his arms in capitulation. “Lead on, Nora.”

Luckily Morgan’s closest neighbor was almost a mile away, so there was no one to discover the duo as they made their way over to the house. Ducking under the yellow police tape across the back door, Beth prepared to pick the lock.

Josef shoved a pair of latex gloves at her. “Put these on first.”

“You came prepared.”

“So did you,” Josef countered, nodding to the lock picking set in her hand. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“Old boyfriend in college taught me,” Beth explained, as she opened the door with a flourish.

“That must be some story.”

“I could tell you – but then I’d have to kill you.”

“Tough luck, I’m already dead,” Josef joked back. “Hey, maybe the bodies are hidden in the refrigerator!” he exclaimed in mock excitement, opening up the door. “Nope, no bodies.”

“Get serious,” Beth warned him. “I really want to find them. It would be a nice show of faith to Josh; the D.A. wouldn’t have to make the deal with Morgan and he’d owe us – not to mention me getting another exclusive story.”

“I do love ambition in a woman.”

They made quick work of checking the kitchen and then moved on to the living room.

Beth gave the room a cursory once over. “I really don’t expect to find anything here; the crime lab team has surely been all over this place.”

Josef was walking carefully around the room, taking in everything with his eyes and nose. Something about the alert look on his face made her suspect she might have to eat her words. “There’s something…”

“What?” she barked.

Instead of answering, he continued his circuit of the room. Then, he halted as if he’d walked into a wall. “I smell human remains – and one vampire.”

Her head whipped around the room nervously. “There’s a vampire here?”

“Not a live one.”

“One of his victims was a vampire??”

“Well, that put’s a new wrinkle in the proceedings.” Josef stalked the room again, feeling the walls and stomping on the floor. He stopped in the narrow hallway between the living room and the bedroom. “There!” he told her. “Trap door.” Hunkering down by the wall, he pointed at the edge of the carpet. “Look at this. The rug has been pulled back at some point.”

“Oh my god – how did they miss this?”

“I think the vamp remains probably threw the dogs off, confused them and masked the human ones.” He began prying the rug back from the floor.

“Oh great, now we can add tampering with evidence to our resume.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t have X-ray eyes, and under the circumstances I need to check it out.”

When the door was revealed, Josef paused before he opened it. “Are you ready for this?” he asked her solicitously.

“I hang out at the morgue,” she snapped.

It turned out it was Josef who reeled back when the door was pulled open. In the filtered light coming in from the bay window in the room Beth could just make out the bones. She glanced at Josef to find him looked decidedly pale – even for a vampire. He rose and walked over to the window, visibly upset. With Josef, that was a rare sight.

Beth followed him, putting a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

“I guess I was able to get something that old because it was a vampire, or maybe because the trauma was so intense…”

“What happened?”

“I think he unwittingly chose the vamp as one of his victims, then got lucky and accidentally staked her with a knife. The knife is there with the bones. Can you imagine dying like that? Slowly, unable to move, starving and surrounded by human bodies that may still have had viable blood in them but unable to get any?” He shuddered.

They were silent in a moment of respect for the dead. Beth thought about the horror and agony that all of the victims must have experienced, but understood Josef’s keen empathy for the vamp.

“That’s one body they won’t be able to ID.”

“I wonder if she had any loved ones to miss her?” Beth said quietly. “It’s too bad there’s no way to find out who she was.”

“I’ll put the word out in the community, that’s about all anyone can do,” Josef said quietly, touched by her compassion.

“Now what?”

“Now we put things back the way we found them and make that ‘anonymous’ tip call to your ex.”

 

XXX

 

“Mercy for the Devil? Not this time. Acting on an anonymous tip, police today found the remains of the victims of serial killer Jonathan Morgan at his residence. The bodies were discovered in a hidden crawl space under the house. With nothing left for Morgan to bargain with, the execution will go ahead as scheduled. The bodies are still in the process of being identified, but the DA believes all of the missing are now accounted for. This is Beth St. John, reporting for Buzz Wire.”

 

XXX

 

The general public sees detective shows on the TV and thinks it’s a constant thrill ride, but even a vampire PI has plenty of hours of tedium. Mick spent over twenty four roaming L.A., questioning everyone he could think of to see if anyone knew anything about Coraline. Pounding the pavement, as boring as it may be, often yields fruits. The kumquat in this case was Coraline’s best friend, Cynthia.

After that he spent several more hours staking her out in the hopes that she would eventually lead him to Coraline. If anyone knew where she was, it would be Cynthia, and he didn’t believe for a minute it was a coincidence that she was in town.

Mick sat in his car, clutching a steel travel cup filled with blood in hands that weren’t as steady as they could have been. He’d been diligent about making sure he didn’t go hungry, but even a vampire needs down time and he hadn’t seen his freezer in… well, he didn’t remember and that was a sure sign it was too long.

Coraline always did have impeccable timing.

He stared down at the cell phone that was sitting on the seat next to him, thinking about honeymoons and nightmares and text messages. He knew Beth thought he was obsessed again. How could he explain this compulsion, this need to _do_ something? He’d go insane if he had to sit around waiting for her to make a move. What else could he do?

 _Take someone with you_ , a little voice in his head said. He couldn’t decide if it sounded like Josef or Beth. “Shut up,” he said anyway.

He had to make the first move. This was his fight, and he wasn’t going to drag anyone else into it to fight it for him. The fact that he had no idea what he was going to do when he found her… well, that wasn’t something he chose to dwell on. He had other things to think about. Like whether he was removing obstacles to his happy life or destroying it.

When Cynthia came out of the hotel and drove away in her rental car, Mick quickly followed.

 

XXX

 

The building was in shambles now, but Mick remembered it well. No matter how long you live, you never forget the night you died, or where you were. Or who you were with. He waited until Cynthia had disappeared inside before following silently. The element of surprise would only be on his side if Coraline was distracted, but he still held hope.

Mick flattened himself against the wall in what used to be the lobby, hearing the voices coming from the adjoining kitchen. He never did get a chance to sample the hotel breakfast the morning after his wedding night. He’d been planning on ordering the eggs benedict. Funny the things you remember. And then there are the things you wish you’d forgotten, but know you never will.

“Did you bring it?” Coraline was asking.

“Right here,” Cynthia’s voice answered. “But I don’t understand why you had me bring it here. Why didn’t you just come to my hotel?”

“Thanks sweetheart, you’re the best!” Coraline told her, and he heard a rustling sound he presumed was a hug. “I’ll talk to you later; maybe we can hit the town while you’re here.”

“We’d better!” her friend told her.

“Mick!” Coraline suddenly called. “I knew you’d show up sooner or later. Are we playing hide and seek?” She actually sounded thrilled to see him.

So much for distraction. He stepped into the room and faced her, with a half smile and a shake of his head. “What do you want, Coraline?”

“What do I want? You came to me. What do _you_ want?”

_You out of my life forever?_

“I want to know what game is next on your agenda.”

“How about a kiss hello first?” Coraline asked flirtingly.

Mick laughed. “As I’m sure you know, I’m married now.”

“Yeah, and I’m afraid that makes you a bigamist. But then you thought you were a widower, didn’t you?”

“ _Why_?” he asked with honest emotion. “Isn’t it bad enough you turned me against my will? Can you tell me why you can’t leave me alone to live this life you cursed me with?”

“Why did you hurt _me_?” Coraline countered, sounding genuinely wounded. “You told me you’d love me forever. You promised! Then when I gave you that, so we could be together, you decided you didn’t want me anymore. I want to understand.”

“You want…” he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “You can’t even _imagine_ the horror I felt, can you?”

“Did you ever love me, or was that a lie too?”

Mick stared at her, thrown off balance. “I…” Could it be true that he’d never tried to see the situation from her (admittedly warped) perspective?

“Did you love me – just answer me that.”

“Why do you think it hurt so much,” Mick finally whispered. Something inside him was telling him he should leave, right now. Reminding him that this is why he needed an impartial observer. Instead he found himself rooted to the spot.

“I _knew_ it. After all we’ve been through together. All the years. You know it’s not over between us. If it was you wouldn’t be here.”

As he contemplated her words in growing horror, a sense of déjà vu flooded Mick, and it was as if the years had melted away and he was back there again, in that insanity he’d been a part of.

He’d been a part of it.

And now, if he’d held out any hope that he could ‘reason’ with her, he was an idiot. He only had two choices, ironically the same choices he was faced with every time. Either kill her, or play her game. The hard steel of the dagger hidden under his coat felt oppressive. Memories flashed across his brain: a cabin, stake, fire… Living with that knowledge every day after, the knowledge that he’d murdered his sire. His wife. Seeing her supposedly dead body in the morgue decades later. Dead again.

Dead again.

She didn’t understand. She’d never understand, because…

_Because she loves you. She really loves you. In fifty six years she’s never moved on, lost interest, found someone else. In her own twisted, irrational way, but she doesn’t understand. She can’t understand why you rejected her and you can’t understand why she killed you but you killed her too…_

“We’re both very sick,” he finally told her.

Who was he? Mick St. John the guardian angel, defender of the innocent and Beth’s knight in shining armor? Or the obsessed, tormented, depraved man he knew from those memories he couldn’t banish no matter how hard he tried?

Coraline was moving closer, sliding sensuously against his body. “You can’t tell me you don’t still feel something for me… I know you do.”

 _I’m not the same man._ He wanted to tell her, but something stopped him at the last minute. She wouldn’t understand that either and it would be dangerous if she did.

“Is that a sword in your coat or are you just unhappy to see me?” Coraline breathed. Then she moved away and held her hair back from her neck. “Do you want me dead so badly, Mick? If you hate me that much, go ahead and do it. Just get it over with.”

Mick started at her exposed neck. He had a brief daydream about reaching into his coat, bringing up the sword, swinging it through the air and through flesh and bone… His hands shook like an alcoholic in detox.

“Kill me.”

He closed his eyes and slumped, all the fight going out of him. He couldn’t do it. If he killed her in cold blood, he wouldn't be the man he claimed to be. The one he’d struggled so hard to become. Just another cold blooded monster.

That only left the old standby: option B.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he told her, knowing she’d misinterpret it, think he was still in love with her. But if she believed that, maybe he could keep her contained. She’d gone over twenty years without doing anything harmful, maybe he could find a way to buy another twenty?

Coraline came closer again. “I’ve got something for you,” she told him, pulling a vial from her pocket. “This is it. The cure. Rare, and oh so valuable. This is what I wanted to tell you about, but I never got the chance. I wanted to undo what I did, give you back what you lost.”

It was also like a master chess game, trying to understand Coraline and chose the right counter moves. She could be sincere – or she might be trying to test him, tempt him with the one thing she thought he wanted. Give him back what he lost so he could be human with Beth? Not likely. Not a snowballs chance in hell. It was a test and he needed to pass it.

“You really think I care about the cure?” Mick took the vial out of her hands and smashed it on the floor. It felt like freedom; Independence Day. In spite of everything, he knew beyond a doubt he’d fully accepted himself because he felt absolutely no remorse at destroying his chance at being human again. In every way that counted – he was already human. He had his soul back and he was going to keep it, no matter the cost. “Who died to make that, Coraline?”

“Argh!” she exclaimed, pulling at her hair. “You’re the only man I’ve never understood!” Probably one of the most honest things she’d ever said to him – and he was taking it as a compliment. “You spend fifty years wanting to be human again and now I offer to give it to you and you don’t want it?!”

Mick shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Guess I’ve finally done what you always tried to get me to do. Accept what I am.”

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “It’s not because of Beth, I hope? Because you know you’re going to have to watch her grow old and die, and long before that she’s going to stop being that hot little blond she is now.”

He kept his face impassive through sheer force of will.

“Or do you think you’re going to turn her and live happily ever after?” Coraline shook her head. “I’ve got a newsflash for you, Mick – you can't turn her. She’s a half breed, it doesn’t work.”

It was crystal clear. He wanted Beth to live forever, to be with him. The doubts he’d had, the ambivalence, back and forth see saw of emotions shattered like the glass at his feet. Up until now he’d been in denial, thinking of it as something _she_ wanted, that he was attempting to be okay with. Even after he agreed, it was always a vague notion, something to relegate to some distant future.

The crystal shattered.

“I can wait, you know. I’m not going anywhere, and I’ve got nothing but time. Eventually Beth will grow old, and you won’t desire her anymore. I’ll still be here. I’ll always be here. I know you; you’ll come back just like you always do.”

Coraline kissed him. He let it happen, still shocked by her revelation. _Keep it together, play the game…_ His hand itched to wrap around the handle of the sword, but he reminded himself that he wanted her alive. Needed her alive, she knew things he wanted to know, about the cure and half breeds…

 _She’s lying. God, she has to be lying…_ But he thought of nightmares and tasting wedding cake, and if he was starting to get some human sensations back just from taking some of Beth’s blood once in awhile, and if her blood was the cure, what would happen when he drained her and all of her blood was in his body?

_If her blood is the cure, and you take the cure, how can you turn her?_

Mick shuddered from the force of his emotions; Coraline wrongly interpreted it as desire. “I’ve missed you, Mick,” she crooned.

“And you’re willing to let me spend a few years with Beth, just step aside and wait?”

Coraline laughed lightly, and it was a curiously pleasant sound, reminding him of bells. “Oh, Mick, darling, I sometimes forget you’re so young yet! No one could love just one person for all of eternity, expecting that would be… well, unreasonable. There are so many men and women out there to sample. I understand. And you will too, when you’re older.”

That was a cynical idea he didn’t even want to contemplate. Maybe he was still a young and naïve vampire, but he wanted to live with his illusions awhile longer. Didn’t think he could live without them.

“What do we do now?” he asked, and it wasn’t entirely to Coraline. He wasn’t going to be able to hold it together much longer; he had to get out of there, somewhere where he could have his breakdown.

_Beth… It can’t be true. We’re supposed to be together forever._

Coraline sighed. “I supposed you want to go back to the little blond. I had a thing for a blond once, did I ever tell you about him? Well maybe someday I will. I’m going to spend a few days doing girl stuff with Cynthia, you know shopping, clubbing.” She pressed a piece of paper into his hand. “Here’s my number, you can call me next week. If you want, we can spend some time together. If not…” she sighed. “I’ll wait. Maybe I’ll look up the blond, see what he’s doing these days…”

_The worse lies we tell are the ones we tell ourselves. I’ve have to face my own lately. Couldn’t help but wonder what lies Coraline told herself?_

 

XXX

 

One minute Josef was at his desk catching up on some financial business he’d neglected while spending the day as Beth’s bloodhound, the next he was up against the wall with a frantic Mick holding him up by the lapels.

“Tell me it’s true – tell me you know Beth can be turned – that half breeds can be turned.”

Josef gazed at him, unperturbed by his semi-hysterical friend. “Yes, they can.”

“You have to be sure!”

“I am, believe me.”

“How do you know?!” he demanded.

“Because I was one.”

Mick let go, stumbling back in shock. “ _You’re_ a half breed?”

“I _was_ a half breed. Now I’m a vampire,” Josef replied sardonically.

Mick almost collapsed in relief, finding his way to the chair and falling into it. “Thank you.”

“What the hell happened? Did you find Coraline?”

“Yeah.”

“Is she dead?”

“No.”

“No?!”

“I… I’ll tell you about it sometime.”

“Sometime?! I ought to kick your ass! Do you know what kind of mess you left me to clean up here?”

“Mess?” Mick seemed to come back to the here and now. “What happened? Why aren’t you watching Beth?”

“She’s with Aldo, it was his shift,” Josef replied tartly. “Boy, that bitch really does still have you under her spell, doesn’t she?”

“No!” Mick denied.

“Then tell me why you were running all over L.A. because of her, and I had to do your job and have a long talk with Josh Lindsey – about vampires.”

“What?”

“You heard me. And after that I had to tag along after Nora and help her solve her “case.” You own me, big time.”

“Oh my god.”

“You fucked up good, Mick. Beth isn’t at all happy with you and neither am I. And for what? You didn’t even kill Coraline!”

“I…couldn’t.”

“You know what? Get the hell out of here. I don’t want to see your face right now. Go home and let your wife kick your ass.”

 

XXX

 

It was a quarter to midnight – deadline – when Mick crept up the stairs and into the bedroom. Beth was in bed but he knew by her breathing that she wasn’t asleep. He knelt on the floor by her side.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll quit being a PI; I’ll turn you right now. Whatever you want. I don’t want to screw this up. I can’t—“ his voice broke.

Beth gave up pretending to be asleep and opened her eyes. “Right now I want you to talk to me. Why did you let me meet with Josh alone -- or is that how you planned it? Leave us alone together maybe we rekindle something?”

“No, that’s not how I planned it,” he answered quietly.

“This isn’t a new issue, but I’d thought – hoped it was behind us.”

“What do you mean?”

“The minute we slept together everything changed. Suddenly you’re trying to wrap me in cotton and we’re not working together like we used to work anymore. We were such a good team. I miss that.”

“What do you want me to say? That I feel the same about you now as I did when we were just friends and you were with Josh?”

“We were never _just_ friends,” Beth reminded him with a slight smile that gave him hope for the outcome of the conversation.

“Probably not, but yeah, maybe it was different. I don’t know how it could help but be. Things are different now. I can’t pretend they’re not.”

“But you want me to, when you decide to go off on your own and continue to play that lone wolf role.”

“This was different,” Mick said, even while knowing it was hypocritical.

“Yeah, it was different. It was even more important not to.”

“I didn’t kill Coraline,” he blurted out. “I couldn’t just kill her in cold blood. Forgive me…” He rested his forehead against her side.

Beth’s fingers combed through his hair comfortingly. “You wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with if you had. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with her – together.”

“Together,” he vowed. And this time he swore to himself he wouldn’t forget.

Beth pulled his head up and drew him into a kiss. They had a lot to talk over, but that could wait. Right now they needed the comfort of each other’s bodies more.

 

XXX

 

_Why didn’t I kill Coraline? I don’t know. Maybe God has had mercy on my soul so I gave her mercy. Will I regret it one day? I hope not. I’m gambling on her past behavior – her patiently waiting all these years. She has no clue how I really feel about Beth. She still sees the damaged, obsessed vampire I was. That’s the way it has to stay._

_I told Beth sometimes death is humane. Yet in this case I spared Coraline. Maybe, in the end, even monsters deserve a chance at redemption._

 

End of Part three

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue to follow… (wherein there is still another shock in store)


	4. Closure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something else major happens in #15 that totally messes with the suppositions some of the characters have made in this story. Just because a character believes a certain thing to be true, doesn't mean it's actually true. Just FYI.
> 
> In future, we will hear more about Josef's sire Max, and the story of his own turning will be revealed.

 

It was late afternoon and Mick was in his office, going over the file on his latest case. Just a nice, plain, boring divorce. The wife was convinced her soon-to-be ex was cheating on her. He wasn’t from what Mick could tell – which should have been good news but probably wasn’t going to be. She was hoping for a really big settlement.

Mick looked at the phone and sighed. Telling himself procrastination wasn’t manly, he picked up the receiver and dialed the number. It was answered on the second ring.

“Hello Josh, its Mick St. John…….. I’m sorry I missed you the other night. This time I promise to be home…… Yeah, we do have some things to talk about.” Hanging up, he marked the appointment on his calendar.

He was just thinking of rewarding himself with a nice glass of single malt when there was a knock at the door. A glance at the screen showed a UPS man in the hall with a package. Wondering if Beth had ordered something – he wasn’t expecting anything himself – he opened the door to the delivery man.

“Package for Mr. Mick St. John.”

“I’m St. John.”

“You need to sign for it,” he was told.

Mick scrawled his name on the clipboard and took the box inside. It was addressed to him, but there was no return address. Later he’d wonder why he wasn’t wary and why he never noticed anything amiss, but, distracted, he took the letter opener from the desk, slit the tape and opened the box.

The sight that greeted him was so unexpected and shocking that he jumped away, staring in horror...

... at the body-less head of his ex-wife, Coraline Duvall.

Mick's eyes flew wildly around the room, then he went over and hastily closed the box for fear that Beth might come walking in and discover his special delivery. Sinking back into the chair, he stared at the box as if it might jump at him. So many emotions were running through him that he couldn’t sort them out, but he couldn’t deny the definite feeling of relief – like something tangible connecting them had been severed.

_Yeah, like her head._

If he’d been human, now would have been a perfect time to throw up. All Mick could do was stare. He ran a shaking hand over his face, and then grabbed the phone again. He had to try three times before he got the number he knew by heart dialed right. It looked like her. Smelled… well, he didn’t want to think about that. Nevertheless, he didn’t trust his own senses at this point. It may have been obvious – but he’d been wrong twice before.

“Josef?” He said when it finally got the number right and it was answered, dismayed to find his voice was shaking as well. “Can you come over immediately? There’s something you have to see…. Yes, it’s urgent. I need you now.”

 

XXX

 

By the time Josef arrived (in half the time it normally took, so he knew Josef had taking his ‘now’ seriously), Mick was more composed. Even a little pissed, although he wasn’t quite sure why.

“I got a package,” he said as he opened the door and Josef walked in. “I need your expert opinion.” Without offering a warning, he lifted the flap of the box. “Is this really Coraline and is she really dead?”

“Have you lost your mind?!” Josef yelled, backing up a step. “I thought you said you didn’t kill her?”

“I didn’t. This came special delivery today. Did you?” he inquired.

Josef regained his composure, but pointedly avoided looking at the package on the desk. “If it had been me, you’d have found her head in bed – or in this case freezer – with you.”

“I always knew you had Godfather delusions. But I’m right, she’s definitely dead now?”

“Good god, man! No, we can’t grow new heads! Trust me, she’s shuffled off this immortal coil for good this time.   Now can you please get rid of that thing!”

“That _thing_ used to be my wife.”

His words sobered both of them. “Sorry,” Josef told him. “I know she was a bitch that made your life a living hell, but…”

“Yeah,” Mick agreed. “Shit, I don’t know. I don’t know what I feel right now.”

“She wasn’t just your wife. She was your sire.”

“And now she’s not.”

“Now she’s not,” Josef agreed, with an enigmatically sympathetic expression. He’d never spoken to Mick of his own sire, but he knew all about the ties that bind even when they shouldn’t, bind so tight until they cut off the circulation and squeeze the life out of you. When Maximilian had lost his own undead life in the tradition of reaping what he’d sown, Josef had felt the relief of knowing the connection was forever gone – and the peculiar sense of loss that conversely went with it.

“Now she’s not.”

 

XXX

 

_Even centuries’ old vampires need to change. Keep evolving. That was the problem with Coraline – she didn’t. We spend our lives cut off from the mortal world, reinforcing our differences with each passing year. But times like this make you think maybe we’re more alike than we realize._

The three of them sat on the couch in the St. John apartment. Beth’s arm was through Mick’s in support, and Josef was on her other side, his arm around her. They were holding their own private wake, a bottle of expensive whiskey on the table and full glasses in their hands.

Mick took a big swallow of his drink. “I wish she could’ve changed.” He shook his head. “What a waste.” Every once in awhile he would have a brief moment of contemplating who might have done it, even suspected it might be Josef, but had decided he really didn’t want to know. There was a non-stop hit parade of suspects, including all three of the people currently in the room. Coraline had made more than her share of enemies. She’d never learned. And now it was too late.

Josef stared into his glass as if it might reveal some wisdom to him. “I don’t know much about her past, but from what I gather, the things she went through at the hands of her family… Coraline was what she was. Beautiful creature; irresistible, avaricious, insane, contradictory.”

“I’m afraid I can’t see what you do,” Beth admitted. “I’m just mostly relieved.”

“That, too,” Mick agreed.

“Whenever a vampire this old dies, we all mourn,” Josef explained. “No matter what their personality.”

“I think I understand.”

“To Coraline,” Mick toasted, touching his glass to the others.

“To Coraline,” they echoed.

To Coraline Duvall. Maybe she rest in peace and may God have mercy on her soul.

 

XXX

 

_This is Beth St. John, coming to you live from Lancaster State prison. Two minutes ago, serial killer Jonathan Morgan was executed by lethal injection. His merciless killing spree spanned ten years and claimed twenty innocent victims. Tonight, the families have closure and the public has justice. And there’s one less monster in the world._

 

XXX

 

_Survival. Avoiding death. Mourning the dead. Killing each other and preying upon each other. Loyalty and betrayal. Hurting and loving and hating… what does set us apart from humanity? Maybe the truth is nothing -- except only our desire to distance ourselves from it._

_Can you blame us?_

 

finis.


End file.
